This invention relates to protectors for protecting thermally responsive members of thermally operated sprinkler heads, and more particularly, to removable protectors for protecting thermally responsive members of sprinkler heads when a thermally responsive member is capable of making contact with an object external to the sprinkler head.
Thermally operated sprinklers are often installed in environments such as the walls or ceilings of commercial or residential buildings to reduce the possibility of fire, chemical reaction, or other high temperature or analogous condition. These types of sprinklers are normally fitted with at least one thermally responsive member such as a liquid tube or bimetallic strip which mechanically reacts to heat such as through breakage or thermal expansion to actuate other operating elements of the sprinkler during operation.
Most thermally responsive members are fragile and are subject to breakage during storage, transportation, mishandling, or installation. This is especially true when portions of a thermally responsive member are exposed to the environment and are likely to come into contact with objects that are external to the sprinkler head. The danger of dislodging or breaking a thermally responsive member can continue even after installation of a sprinkler head as additional items, such as wallboards, ceiling tiles/boards, escutcheon plates, lighting, or other fixtures or building materials, are installed in areas that are local to an installed sprinkler head. In most cases, damage or dislodging of the thermally responsive member requires the entire sprinkler head to be discarded and/or replaced, resulting in significant costs to the manufacturer, distributor, or installer.
A number of previous protectors have been designed to provide permanent, long-term protection for the thermally responsive members of mounted sprinkler heads. However, such designs have been limited in that they cannot be attached to a sprinkler head or provide protection for a thermally responsive member until after the sprinkler head has been installed. Generally, such designs do not permit an installation tool to engage the gripping surfaces of the sprinkler head while a protector is attached to the sprinkler head. Such previous designs have also been limited in that easy or single handed protector removal is either difficult or impossible.
Other previous protectors have been designed to protect thermally responsive elements prior to the installation of a sprinkler head. FIGS. 1A and 1B of the drawings depict a sprinkler 20 having a prior art protector 22. FIG. 1A is an exploded view of the sprinkler 20 which includes a sprinkler head 24, mounting plate 26, and escutcheon plate 28. The prior art protector 22 is cup-shaped to accommodate the sprinkler head 24. When the sprinkler 20 is assembled, the prior art protector 22 can be attached to the sprinkler head 24 by being inserted into the escutcheon plate 28, as shown in FIG. 1B. The outside surface of the prior art protector 22 is too large to fit within the inside diameter 84 of the escutcheon plate 28, requiring the installer to compress the outside surface 23 of the prior art protector 22 during installation. When inserted, the outside surface 23 of the prior art protector 22 locks against the inside diameter 84 of the escutcheon plate 28, allowing the prior art protector 22 to entirely conceal and thereby protect the sprinkler head 24 and its thermally responsive 30 member from damage.
There are multiple disadvantages to such existing protectors. As shown, the prior art protector 22 of FIGS. 1A and 1B requires the presence of an escutcheon plate 28 for the protector 22 to attach to the assembled sprinkler 20, making the design unsuitable for protecting the thermally responsive members of sprinklers having no similar escutcheon plate. Such protectors also require a relatively large amount of structural material to provide both concealment of the sprinkler head 24 and sufficient structural form to remain rigid while extending from an inserted position, such as from within the inside diameter 84 of the escutcheon plate 28.
In addition, such protectors are often incapable of providing continuous protection of a thermally responsive member up to and including the time of installation. For example, it is possible that the prior art protector 22, when inserted into the inside diameter 84 of the escutcheon plate 28, will slide out of the escutcheon plate 28 during transportation, handling, or storage, leaving the thermally responsive element 30 of the sprinkler head 24 unprotected. Since an escutcheon plate 28 must be mounted on the sprinkler 20 for the protector 22 to remain in place, the protector 22 cannot protect the sprinkler head 24 in circumstances where the escutcheon plate 28 must be omitted prior to the installation of other locally positioned building materials such as wall or ceiling boards. The entire sprinkler head 24 is concealed by such protectors, as best demonstrated in FIG. 1B. This makes it impossible for an installer to gain access to the sprinkler head 24 as required during installation without first removing the protector 22. For example, during installation of a sprinkler 20, it is normally necessary for the installer to rotate or xe2x80x9cscrewxe2x80x9d the threads 34 of the sprinkler head 24 into the threads of a connecting pipe. To do so requires the installer to rotate the sprinkler head 24 by hand, or, as demonstrated in FIG. 4C, to use an installation tool to engage the gripping surfaces 32 at base 33 of the sprinkler head 24. Since the prior art protector 22 must be removed to permit access to any part of the sprinkler head 24, the resulting lack of a protector allows the thermally responsive element 30 to be broken during installation from accidental contact with the installer or with an installation tool.
The invention is a removable protector for protecting a thermally responsive member of a sprinkler head from damage while the protector is attached to the sprinkler head. The protector includes first and second shields each having protective surfaces. The protective surfaces are positioned to protect portions of the thermally responsive member that are exposed to potential contact with objects that are external to the sprinkler head and which could potentially come into contact with the sprinkler head during storage, transportation, mishandling, or installation. Each of the shields has a receiving end which slides over the sprinkler head during attachment of the protector. Each of the shields also has a connecting end attached to a cross member which connects the two shields and which provides an appropriate amount of spacing between the shields to permit clearance for accommodating various sprinkler head components when the protector is attached to the sprinkler head.
A releasable fastener attaches the protector to the sprinkler head and secures the major protective surfaces of the first and second shields proximate the exposed portion of the thermally responsive member of the sprinkler head while the protector is attached to the sprinkler head. The fastener is easily released by the installer and enables the protector to provide continuous protection of the thermally responsive member from external objects as long as the protector remains attached to the sprinkler head.
In some embodiments of this invention, the cross member of the protector has a width that is significantly less than the width of the sprinkler head at the deflector and base of the sprinkler head. As a result, the first and second shields are spaced apart from each other by an attachment clearance that, when attached to the sprinkler head, prevents the protector from slipping off of the protector. The shields and cross member can be constructed to have a variety of shapes and configurations to accommodate numerous variations in the shapes of sprinkler heads, including shapes and/or configurations of thermally responsive members. The shields and cross members can also be connected using a number of different methods. For example, the protector can be constructed of a single molded piece having one or more living hinges that attach the shields and cross members. Alternatively, the protector can be flexibly constructed with a memory shape that permits it to be flexibly fastened to the sprinkler head and locked into position.
According to this invention, a releasable fastener may be any device which can attach the removable protector to the sprinkler head so as to secure the major protective surfaces of the first and second shields proximate the exposed portion of the thermally response member of the sprinkler head. The device used as a releasable fastener may vary with the type of sprinkler head to which it is to be attached and the manufacturing processes which are available and expedient. By way of example, a releasable fastener may include stanchions, hooks, bosses, positioning lugs, or other devices. One or more components of the releasable fastener, such as the male and female connectors of stanchion and hook fasteners, or the opposing lugs or bosses, may be mounted on the inside surfaces of the shields and/or be positioned at the connecting end or receiving end of each shield or include a tab attached to the receiving end of each shield. A number of embodiments include fasteners that allow the protector to be attached or detached from the sprinkler head with the use of one hand.
In some embodiments of the invention, the protector is dimensioned to permit the attachment of an installation tool, such as a wrench or socket, to the sprinkler head without requiring the removal of the protector. Thus, the invention can permit continuous protection of the thermally responsive element even during the installation of the sprinkler head, reducing the risk of damage from contact with an installation tool.
This invention does not reside in any one feature of the various embodiments of the protectors disclosed above which are more fully discussed in the Detailed Description and claimed below. Rather, this invention is distinguished from the prior art by a combination of structural features which make up a unique protector configuration. Important features of this invention are shown and described below to illustrate a number of the various contemplated alternatives for carrying out this invention.
Those skilled in the art will realize that this invention is capable of embodiments which are different from those shown in that the details of the structure of the disclosed protector embodiments can be changed in various manners without departing from the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and are not to restrict the scope of the invention. Additionally, the claims are to be regarded as including such equivalent protectors as do not depart from the nature and scope of this invention.